Not to Please Ourselves

Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.

Strong in Faith

Romans 14

People who are strong in faith...

Do not argue about disputed matters Rom 14:1

Do not look down on or judge on secondary issues of faith Rom 14:3

Live and die for the Lord Rom 14:8

People who are strong in faith...

Recognize that God deals with each of His servants individually Rom 14:10-12

Do not become a stumbling block to brother or sister in Christ Rom 14:13

Do not slander the good of others Rom 14:16

Pursue peace Rom 14:19

The strong in faith are obligated to the weak

Romans 15:1

Romans 15:1 CSB

Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves.

In ways we weaken this passage by comparing it to social obligations

We treat social obligations more like preferences to take or leave depending on our mood

We who are strong in faith are morally indebted to the weak!

Weak in faith

Struggling with doubts

People who feel they must act strong in faith and cannot talk about doubts are those without strength

Strong in faith are at peace talking about doubts in a uplifting and constructive way whether they personally struggle with doubt or when talking about other’s doubts

Struggling with certainty

People who believe they must have certainty do not understand that God is mysterious and what limited things we know about Him come from revelation not Knowledge.

Strong in faith are not disturbed when important questions go unanswered. They believe that God will reveal all things in His perfect time. They also are inspired by rather than avoid the mystery of God and spirituality.

Struggling with reason

There are aspects of our faith that are unreasonable. Not the least of which are the multiple miracles that appear in the pages of scripture. The biggest miracle is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That someone died and came back to life is unreasonable. There is evidence that this happened historically, however the truth of the resurrection can only be understood through faith and not through reason.

Strong in faith have a healthy appreciation of natural and supernatural worlds. We can learn much through reason and general revelation of God. We celebrate all good things that come from the sciences. On the other hand the supernatural world is not understood through reason it is illuminated by faith.

Love

Struggling with fear

Fear is evidence that we struggle to trust God’s promises.

Strong in faith do have fears, but they face fear, overcome fear, and place confidence in God’s goodness and provision.

Strong in faith please others not our self

Romans 15:2

Romans 15:2 CSB

Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

Please our neighbor

Clear connection to the parable of the Good Samaritan

We are to gain the approval of those near us for their good

Point of clarification: This is not approval of what we believe this approval of how we treat others. Think Good Samaritan

Orthodoxy vs Orthopraxy

I think we have this backwards in many ways we seek approval of orthodoxy when we should be seeking approval of orthopraxy

“Theology without practice is the theology of demons”

― Maximus the Confessor

You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder. (Jas 2:19)

James 2:19 CSB

You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.

Not to please ourselves

This is not a self-esteem issue

Doing nice things for others to make yourself feel better is for your good not theirs.

Self-denial

The implication here is self-approval

I am right and I celebrate that I am right

Taking pride in oneself

The strong in faith encourage others

Build him up

Build a permanent dwelling place

Culturally we are tearing down things and people

It is easy to see how people who disagree with us are tearing down the things that are important to us

However, remember this is self-reflective passage

Are we able to see how we have missed the mark of building others up by taking actions that in reality tear others down?

The strong in faith follow Christ’s example

Romans 15:3

Romans 15:3 (CSB)

For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

Christ did not seek approval for himself and endured insults

Jesus endured the insults that were meant for us

Contrast this with our cultural tendency to be outraged by others insults

Are we more likely to be influenced by Christ's example and endure insults or are we more influenced by culture and be outraged and counterattack insults?

Christ is our standard.

Strong in faith progress from instruction to glorifying God in Christian unity

Notice the progression

Romans 15:4–6 (CSB)

For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.

Does what you read, watch, or listen to give you hope?

If it does not you have two options

God is speaking and you are not listening or willing to follow

What you are listening to is not from God

I am sorry to speak so boldly. However, we must guard our hearts and minds from the destructive wordly philosophies. Our souls and other’s souls depend on it.

Notice that we can learn about endurance and encouragement from scriptures. But we must receive endurance and encouragement as a gift from God.

Harmony as a grant

Harmony is in the body of Christ

Harmony is conformity to Christ as our standard

Our highest aim is to glorify God in Christian Unity!

Four Takeaways

We who are strong are obligated to the weak

Weakness needs an encouraging brother or sister in Christ

We need to rise above a world that is tearing itself apart

The fruit of uplifting relationships are a Glory to God and Unity in Christ

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